S 2490 
M2 P3 
opy 1 



Mary of Bethany* 



A MESSAGE TO YOUNG WOMEN, 



BY 

ELLA M. PARKS. 



Pkppkr Publishing Company, 

Rooms 610-611 Lippincott Building, 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
I902. 



THE USftAKY ©F 

CONGRESS, 
Two Copies Receive 

MAR 3fl 1902 

COPVWQHT ENThv 

CLASS <3>XXc. No.i 

copy a 



Copyright, 1901. 
Pepper Publishing Company. 



FORE WORD. 



To the young women, who, with the 
writer, count it their highest joy to be 
numbered among the disciples of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, this little booklet is 
sent forth; and if, through the blessing 
of God, it shall lead the readers to seek 
a more intimate acquaintance with the 
Master, its purpose will have been accom- 
plished. E _ M _ p _ 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter, i. 
the christ ideal ------ 5 

Chapter II. 

THE HEAVENLY GUEST ----- II 

Chapter III. 

AT JESUS' FEET ------- 23 

Chapter IV. 

IN THE VALLEY ------- 50 

Chapter V. 

AN ALABASTER BOX 58 



THE CHRIST IDEAL 



CHAPTER I. 
The Christ Ideal. 

If you could link arms with me to- 
day, dear sister reader, and we could 
walk through one of the great art gal- 
leries of Europe, we should be in- 
terested in noting how each of the old 
masters had his own peculiar ideal of 
feminine loveliness, and how this ideal 
predominated in his masterpieces. 
Here we catch a glimpse of a Titian 
beauty, in all the splendor of gor- 
geous coloring; here a Rembrandt, 
with dusky shadows ; yonder a .statu- 
esque Madonna, with wide, dark eyes 
— the dream of a Raphael — while all 
about us are the best products of mod- 
ern art, revealing, in form and fea- 
ture, the individual artist's ideal of 
beauty and grace. 

Delightful and interesting as such a 
study would be, I invite you to walk 
with me to-day in a gallery whose 
walls are hung with historic portraits, 
5 



MARY OF BETHANY 



faces and forms, not the dream of an 
artist's fancy, but which hold for us 
a strange fascination because they 
were once tremulous with feeling and 
glowing with life. A Master Hand 
has drawn these portraits for us, 
and, as we stroll down the aisles of 
this Bible gallery, faces of every type 
meet our eye, some glowing with radi- 
ant beauty, others somber, against a 
background of deepest shadow. Here, 
by the well-side, amid her flocks, we 
see the beautiful Rachel; yonder, the 
dark eyes of Jewish Miriam look out 
at us; further down the gallery we 
stop to admire the lovely face of the 
gleaner, Ruth; but our exclamations 
of delight die away as we stand in rev- 
erent silence before the picture of 
Holy Motherhood, while, as we gaze 
into those luminous eyes, we seem to 
already see, in their mysterious 
depths, the shadows of Calvary and an 
uplifted cross. 

There is one portrait, from all these 
6 



THE CHRIST IDEAL 



about ns, which has caught our eye, 
and to it we turn. Our sense of the 
beautiful draws us to it with an ir- 
resistible force, and we are held spell- 
bound by its transcendent loveliness. 
We feel that a hasty study of this face 
will not satisfy us; we want to dis- 
cover the secret of the beauty which 
shines out as if traced in lines of liv- 
ing light. If we look at the features 
critically, we cannot discover their 
charm; they are not of the classic reg- 
ularity which often attends the beauti- 
ful; they might belong to any Jewish 
maiden; but over all there is cast a 
vail of holy radiance, a spiritual light 
which shines out of the eyes and il- 
lumines every line of the face. 
" Ah ! " we say to ourselves, " here is 
something more than the beauty of an 
exquisite complexion or faultless fea- 
tures; there is character here — 6 the 
more ethereal beauty ' of which poets 
have sung and which radiates only 
from the pure in heart/' It is the 

7 



MARY OF BETHANY 



same beauty which we have seen rest- 
ing upon the face of an aged saint, 
who has walked with God for a life- 
time, or upon the tear-stained counte- 
nance of one from whom all of earth's 
treasures have been taken and who yet 
looks up into the face of God and 
says, " Thy blessed will be done! " It 
is the same glory that slipped out of 
heaven's gates and fell upon the up- 
turned face of heavenly-minded Ste- 
phen, so that " all that sat in the coun- 
cil, looking steadfastly on him, saw 
his face as it had been the face of an 
angel." 

But the picture has a name, and, 
bending eagerly forward, we read 
these words: " Mary of Bethany: The 
Christ Ideal of Young Womanhood." 

" O ! " you say to me, " is this really 
the Christ's ideal for young women? 
I have so often wondered just what 
He would have a young woman be 
and do. It is perplexing, in this busy 
age, for a Christian girl to know just 



THE CHRIST IDEAL 



where lies her highest duty. I wonder 
if Mary of Bethany did really find 
the secret, the ' summum bonum/ of 
life? " In answer to your question, 1 
point you to the words written be- 
neath that name — words of Christ 
Himself, words which have lived 
through nineteen centuries of time — 
" One thing is needful; and Mary 
hath chosen that good part which 
shall not be taken away from her." 

Will you not stop with me then, 
for a little while, as together we study 
this life which won for itself that 
which you and I, as loving disciples 
of Christ, would value as the highest 
of honors — the Master's loving word 
of approval? As young women, with 
an earnest purpose to make our lives 
count the most possible for God, 
will it not pay us to stop and 
consider whether we, too, have 
found the secret which Mary of 
Bethany possessed, " the one thing 
needful " which shall remain when 
9 



MARY OF BETHANY 



all else shall be taken from us? 
Surely, it is all-important that we 
should make no mistake in this mat- 
ter. 

You have sometimes seen pictures 
so painted that, viewed from different 
directions, you behold different 
scenes; so this picture of Mary of 
Bethany resolves itself into three 
views, each of which is full of sugges- 
tion and singularly beautiful. And, 
as we study and admire this life, let us 
remember that the same elements of 
character which Christ approved on 
earth are those which He approves in 
this twentieth century, and you, my 
dear sister-disciple, may reproduce, in 
your life, the characteristics which 
have made the name of this simple 
Jewish maiden the synonym for lov- 
ing devotion, wherever the gospel 
message has been proclaimed. 



10 



THE HEAVENLY GUEST 



CHAPTER II. 

THE HEAVENLY GUEST AND FRIEND. 

"Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Laz- 
arus." — John 11: 5 

It is the beginning of the Feast of 
Tabernacles. All Jerusalem is in 
festive array, welcoming from every 
direction the bands of faithful Jews 
who are making their pilgrimage to 
the city of their God. Even in quiet 
little Bethany, two miles from the 
city itself, the people have built the 
leafy booths in which all were ex- 
pected to live during the festive week 
in memory of the pilgrim days of Is- 
rael. In one home of Bethany there 
is unusual excitement. Jesus, the 
mighty Prophet, is coming up to the 
Feast, and is to be entertained in the 
home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus 
— that home which was ever open to 
Him as a restful retreat when over- 
come with the weariness of long jour- 
neys or pursued by the hatred of 
11 



MARY OF BETHANY 



priests and Pharisees. Here the Mas- 
ter somewhat relaxed from His pub- 
lic role, and became the confidential 
friend, finding, in the devotion of 
these loving hearts, the comfort and 
sympathy denied Him elsewhere. 

There is much to be done for a 
guest so loved and honored, and we 
can picture to ourselves the happi- 
ness of Mary and Martha as they go 
about the house, arranging every- 
thing for the Master's comfort, and 
living over, in anticipation, the pre- 
cious days when He should be with 
them. But while Mary is thinking 
only of His presence, and of the joy 
with which she will receive those new 
unfoldings of truth which He loved 
to impart to His friends, Martha is 
wondering if enough provisions have 
been brought from the market and 
worrying lest she shall not be able to 
serve everything in just the proper 
style. So, w 7 hen the Master comes, 
weary and heartsick from contact 
12 



THE HEAVENLY GUEST 



with those who so utterly misunder- 
stood Him and His mission, He finds 
the Bethany home in beautiful order 
and everything prepared for His 
comf ort, everything except one heart 
that has failed to recognize the deep- 
est need of her Master. 

Poor Martha ! in her anxiety to 
have everything at its best, she has 
become nervous and flurried, and has 
failed to prepare her mind and heart 
for that highest service which the 
Lord seeks at her hands — the simple 
listening to His teaching and recep- 
tion of the truth; and so we see her, 
flying in and out, " cumbered — or lit- 
erally, distracted — with much serv- 
ing," seeking to prepare a great feast 
for the Master. She steps into the 
leafy booth, where the Divine Guest 
is seated, and there she beholds 
Mary, sitting at Jesus' feet, a rapt 
listener as He talks to her of heaven- 
ly things, a light upon her face which 
is but the reflected glory from the 
lo 



MARY OF BETHANY 



Master's countenance, as He realizes 
that at last He has found a heart that 
understands Him and responds to 
His love. The scene, in its peaceful 
beauty, jars on Martha's overtaxed 
nerves, and all her irritability vents 
itself in a burst of impatience: 
" Lord, dost Thou not care that my 
sister hath left me to serve alone? 
Bid her, therefore, that she help 
me." 

The great tender heart of the Mas- 
ter is touched. Looking into Mar- 
tha's flushed and troubled face, He 
reads there physical weariness and 
mental anxiety, and though He ap- 
preciates the service she seeks to ren- 
der Him, yet He sees her danger and 
mistake. Gently repeating her name, 
in affectionate reproof, He replies: 
" Martha, Martha, thou art careful 
and troubled about many things, but 
one thing is needful, and Mary hath 
chosen that good part." 

A familiar picture it is; we have 
14 



THE HEAVENLY GUEST 



looked at it many times, and, no 
doubt, have given our sympathy to 
poor Martha, who, it may seem to us, 
was rather abused. Was it right for 
her to serve alone, and was not the 
Master a little severe in His rebuke ? 
If we have been indulging these 
thoughts, it has been because we 
have been taking only a surface view 
of the matter, and have failed to 
catch the deep spiritual lessons which 
we cannot but believe the Master in- 
tended we should learn from the in- 
cident. Its teachings lose none of 
their force as they come to us in this 
twentieth century, for present condi- 
tions are strangely similar to those 
which we see in the Bethany home, 
and you will recognize, in this Mar- 
tha of long ago, a very familiar and 
prevalent type of modern disciple- 
ship. Our churches, our Epworth 
Leagues, our Christian Endeavor so- 
cieties, are full of these sincere and 
yet mistaken Marthas — in fact, a 



15 



MARY OF BETHANY 



character like Mary's is something of 
a rarity. And though we may try to 
excuse Martha's action, Jesus, with 
infinite tenderness, rebuked her; and 
it is important that we heed the note 
of warning which He brought to her. 

In the first place, we may be sure 
that the Master did not question the 
motive that actuated Martha in her 
service, but He tried to show her 
that she was mistaken in her ideas of 
what constituted the true spirit of 
service. She was wrong in thinking 
that true devotion consisted only in 
" much serving," rather than in an 
attitude of the soul. " Martha, Mar- 
tha, thou art careful and troubled 
about many things; but one thing is 
needful." 

" Cumbered with much .serving," 
" careful and troubled " — is not this 
an accurate likeness of many a mod- 
ern Martha ? ISTot only does this ap- 
ply to the home and social life, where 
the spirit of anxious care has so taken 
IG 



THE HEAVENLY GUEST. 



hold of many hearts, but, even in our 
religious lives, this spirit has crept 
in. We have heard the subject of 
service so emphasized of late years, 
and our churches, with their mani- 
fold departments and sub-depart- 
ments, their committees and ecclesi- 
astical machinery, have so absorbed 
the time and attention and thought 
of our Christian young women that 
the subjective side of their religious 
life has been too often sadly neg- 
lected. Like Martha of old, they are 
trying to satisfy their own natures 
and fulfil their ideas of Christian 
duty by " much serving " instead of 
quiet tarrying at Jesus' feet. 

Every one who would make a suc- 
cess in the business world of to-day 
must live the " strenuous life/' and 
so we see our brothers waging the 
battles of competition and sacrificing 
health, domestic enjoyment, and, too 
often, religious duty, upon the altar 
of business life. This same spirit of 
17 



MARY OF BETHANY 



rush and bustle has pervaded the 
lives of American women, and as a 
consequence, there are numberless 
victims to nervous prostration every 
year, while one has only to study the 
faces of the women, young and old, 
whom one meets on the streets in an 
hour's time, to realize how very few 
are evidently letting " the peace of 
God rule in their hearts." There is 
so much to do at home, so many clubs 
to attend, so many social calls to be 
made, so much work to be done for 
the church in order to keep up its 
finances — so much of everything ex- 
cept time for personal devotion and 
communion with God. This is why 
many a dear girl finds herself an ac- 
tive " worker " in the young people's 
societies, Sunday School and mission- 
ary auxiliaries, who still carries 
about a hungry heart, unsatisfied be- 
cause unfilled with the Spirit of 
Christ. If one is seeking the reason 
for so many Christian young women 

18 



THE HEAVENLY GUEST 



drifting back into a worldly life, it 
may be traced to the fact that they 
are not finding food for the heart-life 
in daily communion with Christ. 

Like Martha of Bethany, we have 
allowed the worldly standards about 
us to so influence our ideals of service 
that we are in danger of losing the 
sweet simplicity of the Christ ideals. 
It was the custom in Jerusalem to 
honor a guest with a feast, and Mar- 
tha was so anxious to keep up with 
the style of the day, that she did not 
stop to inquire " What would the 
Master like best ? " Can we not see 
something similar to this spirit in the 
almost feverish anxiety with which 
the church seeks to keep up with the 
world in the attractions of its social 
life? Do you remember that last 
charity fair you worked for and that 
supper where you served, coming 
home with aching head and feet, too 
tired to pray or glance into your Bi- 
ble? We think that the cause of 



19 



MARY OF BETHANY 



Christ must be advertized and ad- 
vanced along worldly lines and ex- 
ternal activities, forgetting that it is 
" not by might nor by power, but by 
My Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." 
Is it not possible that if we would 
pause long enough to-day to hear the 
Saviour's voice, that He might sug- 
gest some changes in some of our 
forms of service? The Christ calls 
ever to simplicity in our church, our 
home, our social life; but we have 
added so many externals to our ideals 
of what is needful that we sometimes 
wonder if He really meant what He 
said when He uttered those memor- 
able words: "My yoke is easy and 
my burden is light." 

Let no one think that we would 
underestimate the value of Christian 
work or the usefulness of various 
means adopted in our churches for 
the upbuilding of the kingdom. The 
heart most full of love to God will be 
most full of love to man — a love 



20 



THE HEAVENLY GUEST 



which will find its expression in some 
form of service. W e would not urge 
upon any Christian young woman the 
mysticism and sentimentality that 
would lead her to seek the seclusion 
of a convent; but we do plead for a 
deepening of the devotional life — an 
emphasizing of personal and intimate 
acquaintance with the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

But you say, " There is so much to 
do that must be done, and if we all 
sat down like Mary, what would be- 
come of the cause ? " It is indeed 
true that the work of the church 
rightly demands a portion of our time 
and effort,, but any mere external ac- 
tivity which deprives us of our time 
for the devotional study of God's 
word and the prayer life, where, with 
the world shut out, we may meet our 
Lord, face to face — anything, in our 
home, social or religious life that 
robs us of this privilege and duty is 
dangerous to our spiritual life. A 
21 



MARY OF BETHANY 



simple meal would have served the 
purpose just as well as the elaborate 
feast Martha was planning, and the 
former would have left her with 
heart and mind free from anxiety 
and responsive to the Master's words. 
Jesus wanted Martha — not her feast. 
He was hungry for sympathy and 
heart-food. 

Dear sister of mine, I wonder how 
many times Christ comes to us and 
would draw us into the secret place 
of fellowship with Himself, but finds 
us too busy, " with much serving/' 
to respond to His invitation? Shall 
we not to-day hear His loving word 
of reproof, and, leaving all, take our 
place, with Mary, at His feet, there 
learning " the one thing needful " — 
that " good part," which shall remain 
when working days are over ? 



22 



AT JESUS' FEET 



CHAPTER III. 

AT JESUS' FEET. 

4 'Mary also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his 
word. ' ' 

"Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy 
presence." — Psalm 31: 20. 

Artists and poets have never tired 
of idealizing the graphic story of 
Mary at the feet of her Lord, and, 
indeed, one cannot find, in all the 
earthly life of Jesus, a scene more 
beautiful or suggestive. As is so of- 
ten the case, the vivid contrasts in 
this picture make it all the more 
striking, and Mary's individuality 
stands out in bright relief against the 
background of Martha's bustling fig- 
ure. 

Mary, also, was anxious to serve 
her Master, but she had caught the 
true spirit of the gospel better than 
had Martha. Her intercourse with 
J esus had taught her that the highest 
devotion that could be rendered, and 

23 



MARY OF BETHANY 



the service which He most appre- 
ciated, was the loving worship of a 
human heart, and so, with the perfect 
abandon of a nature fully surren- 
dered to the will of her Lord, she 
takes her place as an eager learner at 
the feet of the Great Teacher. 

We are not told what the Master's 
words were to that sensitive, respon- 
sive heart, but we feel sure that He 
told her many of the deepest secrets 
of His Iovq and let her enter into 
some knowledge of the gray shadows 
that already lay athwart His path- 
way. And now, upon this sweet and 
holy fellowship, there falls the harsh 
note of Martha's censure, like a jar- 
ring discord in a bar of music. She 
could not understand how such an at- 
titude of devotion and quiet listening 
could be pleasing to the Master — she 
would do some service which would 
demonstrate to Him and to those 
about that she was thoughtful of His 
needs. Alas, for poor Martha! she 



24 



AT JESUS' FEET 



did not realize what her feast was 
costing her in the way of fellowship 
with her Lord and a knowledge of 
His will ! 

" Mary hath chosen that good 
part." Choice involves an act of the 
will. It was not merely the natural 
temperament of the younger sister 
that led her to the place of commun- 
ion. Mary had made a deliberate 
choice — as you and I must do. She 
had chosen wisely and well — " the 
good part " — a personal, intimate 
knowledge of Jesus and of His will. 
Paul said, " I count all things but 
loss . . . that I may know Him." This 
knowledge comes not through " much 
serving," but through much loving. 
There must be a " choosing," a 
" counting," and then a tarrying. 

It is an old legend of the Middle 
Ages which tells us that certain 
monks who gave themselves up to 
ceaseless adoration of the pictures of 
the crucified Christ, came to have re- 

25 



MARY OF BETHANY 



produced, in their own bodies, the 
marks of His passion — the nail-prints 
in hands and feet and thorn wounds 
on the brow. Fantastic as the 
thought may be, it still holds a sug- 
gestive truth. We cannot but believe 
that as Mary of Bethany lingered at 
the feet of her loved Master, and as 
she opened her heart to the full radi- 
ance of His truth, she took on some- 
thing of the Lord's own glory, and 
those who saw her might have taken 
knowledge that she had been with 
Jesus. 

This law of growth in the spiritual 
life is still in force to-day. It is only 
by " beholding " that we are 
" changed into the same image." 
With all our twentieth century helps 
to culture and religious thought, 
with our libraries and reading 
courses along lines of Christian 
scholarship, with our multiplied re- 
ligious services — still there is noth- 
ing that can take the place, as a 

26 



AT JESUS' FEET 



means of spiritual growth, of the 
daily, studious, devotional reading of 
God's word and secret prayer. 
Would you know the secret of the 
leanness you feel in your own soul, 
and which is so apparent in many 
Christians about you ? Believe me, 
much of it may be traced to the neg- 
lect of these two means of grace. You 
have been trying to serve, Martha- 
like, without first finding the 
strength needed by waiting at Jesus' 
feet. So busy with the cares of this 
world, so engrossed in tasks of every- 
day life, so pressed by social engage- 
ments, you have seemed to be able to 
find no time for communion with the 
Lord of heaven. The word of life, 
which might have been a source of 
daily strength to you, has somehow 
lost its attraction; prayer has become 
a duty instead of a blessed privilege, 
and you wonder why it is that the 
presence of Christ seems so unreal, 
and His service so many times a bur- 

27 



MARY OF BETHANY 



den. And while you have been 
struggling on, wondering if, after all, 
this is all the Christian life means, 
the dear Lord has been longing to 
take you into the inner circle of His 
love, and make your life rich and 
glad and abundant because filled with 
a sense of His indwelling presence. 

Eobertson has said, " Only in the 
sacredness of inward silence does the 
soul truly meet the secret-hiding 
God. The strength of resolve, which 
afterwards shapes life and mixes it- 
self with action, is the fruit of those 
sacred, solitary moments when we 
meet God alone. " And still another 
has said, " We may lay it down as an 
elemental principle of religion that 
no large growth in holiness was ever 
gained by one who did not take time 
to be often and long alone with 
God." 

But you say, " I am so busy every 
day; I have my work in the office, at 
the teacher's desk, or behind the 

28 



AT JESUS' FEET 



counter; how am I to find time for 
this deep devotional life ? " 

To you, my dear sisters, who must 
fight your own battles in this busy 
work-a-day world, I bring a message 
which has been a great source of com- 
fort to my own heart. It came from 
the lips of one of the greatest teachers 
of spiritual things in this country, and 
contains a truth both inspiring and 
comforting. He said: "The highest 
worship which we can offer to God is 
the simple recognition of His pres- 
ence." 

You will see, in an instant, how 
simple this makes the question of the 
devotional life for the busy young 
woman. True it is, you may not be 
able to spend the time in secret prayer 
and study of the word that your more 
favored sister in the home may do, but 
you may be hid, moment by moment, 
" in the secret of His presence " by 
simply learning to recognize the ever- 

29 



MARY OF BETHANY 



present Lord by your side. You re- 
member that Tennyson has sung: 
" Speak to Him, thou, for lie hears, 

and Spirit with spirit can meet — 
Closer is He than breathing and 
nearer than hands and feet/' 
The command, " Pray without ceas- 
ing/' was, for many years, a great en- 
igma to me. But since I have learned 
the true meaning of the passage, it has 
seemed just as beautifully natural as 
are all the rest of our Father's com- 
mands. While it is not possible for 
us to be constantly in the bodily atti- 
tude of prayer, yet the devout soul 
may be constantly in the spirit of 
prayer, so that, when temptation 
comes, there will be the instant, up- 
ward look to Him " who is able to 
keep us from falling," and when an 
unexpected pleasure lights our path- 
way it will seem like second nature to 
send up a silent word of gratitude and 
praise to Him who is the Giver of 
every good and every perfect gift. 

30 



AT JESUS' FEET 



You will be amazed to find the rich- 
ness and blessing that will come into 
your life as you acquire this blessed 
habit of " practicing the presence of 
God." Prayer will become what God 
meant it should be — the natural out- 
going of your whole nature to Him, 
and you will know the sweetness of 
communion with your Lord " as 
friend with friend." There will be 
nothing stale or uninteresting about 
your Christian experience, but you 
will find in this soul-romance, this 
love-life, an increasing measure of joy 
as you walk and talk with Him who is 
the Lover of your soul. 

A beautiful incident is told of one 
of the theological professors in a great 
German university. He was noted for 
his great personal piety, and some of 
his students, in discussing the matter, 
decided that he must spend a great 
many hours daily in prayer. Finally, 
one of the students volunteered to se- 
crete himself in the professor's study 

31 



MARY OF BETHANY 



and try to find out how many hours he 
spent upon his knees. Accordingly he 
hid behind a screen where he could 
watch the professor, who was busy 
writing a volume on theology. All 
the morning he watched, but no visi- 
ble signs of prayer. Just as the bell 
struck the hour of noon the professor 
slowly rose, took off his skull cap, and 
lifting his eyes to heaven, said sim- 
ply: " Dear Lord, our mutual under- 
standing still continues! " took up his 
pen and began work again. 

No life is too busy to worship in 
this precious and intimate way. As 
you sit at your teacher's desk in the 
school room you may be conscious 
that the Great Teacher is standing at 
your side, ready to impart to you the 
needed lessons of heavenly grace, or 
at your office desk you may beat out 
on your typewriter a song of praise as 
you behold Him who is invisible. 

But while we may keep in the con- 
stant spirit of prayer at our work, yet 

32 



AT JESUS' FEET 



there is an imperative need of quiet 
times ivhen we can shut out the world 
and be alone with God. The saints of 
all ages have realized this fact, and 
those whom we now revere as holy 
men and women of God spent much 
of their time in the closet of secret 
prayer. Need I remind you of that 
marvelous woman, Susannah Wesley, 
who, with a family of nineteen chil- 
dren, yet found time for hours of se- 
cret prayer and meditation every day; 
or of General Gordon, whose white 
handkerchief, outside his tent door, 
gave notice to all that he was holding 
audience with the King of Heaven? 
Need I remind you of Him who, worn 
with grief and often ready to drop 
from fatigue at the close of the day, 
yet made His way alone to the moun- 
tain side where, through all the long 
hours of the night, He poured out His 
soul before His Father? 

It is very sweet to close the day 
with the word in our minds and 



33 



MARY OF BETHANY 



hearts, and our Saviour's name upon 
our lips in prayer; but very often, es- 
pecially with our business sisters, the 
night brings with it so much of physi- 
cal weariness and mental exhaustion 
that it is impossible to fully appreci- 
ate the lessons which the word brings 
to us in this hour, or to put our de- 
sires clearly before the Lord. For this 
reason I urge upon every reader of 
these words the observance of the 
Morning Watch. This movement has 
become so widespread among our col- 
leges and young people's societies that 
it needs little explanation, but to those 
who may not know of it we will sim- 
ply say it is the setting apart of the 
first few minutes or half hour of the 
day to the reading of God's word, 
prayer and quiet thought. You will 
remember that He who spent long 
nights in prayer upon the mountain 
side has also left us an exampla in 
keeping the morning watch, for Mark 
tells us that " in the morning, rising 

34 



AT JESUS' FEET 



up a great while before day, he went 
out and departed into a solitary place 
and there prayed." 

Beginning the day at the feet of 
Jesus! Looking into His face before 
we look into the faces of our fellow 
men! Hearing His words before 
earthly voices are in our ears ! Catch- 
ing His message to bear to other 
hearts! Feeling His touch upon heart 
and brow and lips, sealing us His own 
in the freshness of the morning ! 

Dear reader, if you are not keeping 
the Morning Watch, what can I say 
that will induce you to begin it this 
very day? My own personal experi- 
ence here might be a witness to the 
blessing which such a habit brings 
into the life. It was not until the last 
term of my college life that this sub- 
ject was brought forcibly to my atten- 
tion. My hour for Bible study and 
prayer had not been regular up to this 
time, but I began the experiment and 
I was amazed to find what a difference 



35 



MARY OF BETHANY 



it made in my life. Perhaps there 
was a little element of sacrifice which 
entered in and increased the blessing, 
for that delightful half -hour nap had 
to be sacrificed and sometimes extra 
lessons called imperatively for those 
precious moments. But how the 
word opened up to my mind as I came 
to it with the vigor of rested body and 
brain; how the Master spoke in the 
quiet of that morning hour, and how 
its influence, like a holy benediction, 
lingered through all the busy hours of 
the day! 

Henry Drummond, author of " The 
Greatest Thing in the World," has 
said : " Five minutes spent in the 
companionship of Christ every morn- 
ing — ay, two minutes, if it is face to 
face and heart to heart — will change 
the whole day, and make every 
thought and feeling different." Let 
us begin the day, then, " in the secret 
of His presence," trusting Him to 
keep, through trials and temptations, 

36 



AT JESUS' FEET 



" that which we have committed unto 
Him." 

It may seem, to some of my read- 
ers, that I am putting an undue 
amount of emphasis on the subjective 
side of the Christian life, leaving un- 
touched the great question of service. 
This is simply, as intimated previous- 
ly, because the subject of service has 
been kept so persistently before our 
young people of late years. We can 
scarcely go into a religious meeting 
nowadays without hearing urged upon 
the people " consecration for service." 
This is all good as far as it goes, but 
there is one thing better — that is, 
" consecration to God." Set apart for 
Himself — not to any particular ser- 
vice nor necessarily to any outward 
activity; set apart, it may be, to 
suffer His will — to stand and wait as 
well as to run His errands. Is it not 
true, dear friends, that many of us are 
willing to be consecrated to service 
who are not willing to consecrate our- 



37 



MARY OF BETHANY 



selves wholly to the Lord, ready to 
make His will our will in every detail 
of our lives? 

This was the difference between the 
service of Mary and that of Martha. 
Mary's will was fully surrendered to 
the will of Jesus, and when she saw 
that He wanted a quiet listener rather 
than a busy servant she hastened to 
render Him this service. But Martha 
hurried on in her self-appointed tasks, 
forgetting her high privilege in the 
presence of Him who declared: 
" Henceforth I call you not servants, 
but I have called you friends." 

" Set apart for Jesus! 

Is not this enough, 
Though the desert prospect 

Open wild and rough? 
Set apart for His delight, 

Chosen for His holy pleasure, 

Sealed to be His special treasure 
Could we choose a nobler joy — and 
would we if we might? 

38 



AT JESUS' FEET 



u Set apart to love Him, 

And His love to know, 
Not to waste affection 

On a passing show; 
Called to give Him life and heart, 

Called to pour the hidden treasure 

That none other claims to measure, 
Into His beloved hand ! thrice blessed, 
* set apart ! 9 

" Set apart forever 
For Himself alone ! " 
" Now we see our calling 
Gloriously shown; 
Owning, with no secret dread, 
This our holy separation, 
Now the crown of consecration 
Of the Lord our God shall rest upon 
our willing head." 

But can anyone doubt but that she, 
who lingered at the Master's feet, 
would be quick to obey His call to 
service? When He should say, 
" Whom shall we send and who will 
go for us?" it would be Mary who 

39 



MARY OF BETHANY 



would spring quickly up with the glad 
response, " Here am I; send me!" 
The same spiritual intuition which led 
her to tarry would now impel to ac- 
tion. So we see that, after all, the 
devotional life and Christian service 
are related as cause to effect, and the 
heart that keeps closest to the Lord in 
loving communion will be the one 
most likely to be used by Him in ser- 
vice to others. 

One of the most beautiful promises 
which we have of Divine guidance is 
the one in which the Lord declares, 
" I will guide thee with mine eye." 
We may not hope to prove the sweet- 
ness of this promise unless we take 
our place, with Mary, at His feet, 
where His eye may be upon us and 
ours upon Him. Such delicate guid- 
ance comes only to those who have 
counted all things but loss that they 
might know Him, and have come into 
such blessed and intimate fellowship 
40 



AT JESUS' FEET 



that the glance of His eye is sufficient 
to reveal duty. 

How changed would much of our 
service become if we were thus doing 
God's work, in His way! How some 
forms of service, to which we have 
been attaching great importance, 
would dwindle and others suddenly 
spring into importance! The fact is, 
that in our anxiety to see our young 
people's societies prosper along nu- 
merical lines, our missionary collec- 
tions up to the mark, our social and 
literary meetings a success, we are in 
danger of overlooking the fact that 
these are merely means to an end — 
that end, the salvation and sanctifica- 
tion of souls. Because we lose sight 
of this fact, our service in these de- 
partments becomes, too often, purely 
mechanical — we work in them be- 
cause we are interested in them, just 
as we are interested in a literary club, 
or charitable organization. We lose 
sight of the spiritual element, and so 
41 



MARY OF BETHANY 



it comes about that you can find ten 
young women to work for a social or 
literary program, where you can find 
one who will go and speak to a lost 
soul about Christ. " I am willing to 
help in the church, but don't ask me 
to do any personal work! " is a re- 
mark often heard, and so these dear 
young women hope somehow to ful- 
fill their duty to God and the lost 
world about them by these " creature- 
ly activities/' leaving on other shoul- 
ders the burden of prayer and per- 
sonal endeavor for the salvation of 
others. Dear reader, you have been 
saved in order that you might save 
others. Let us remember that there is 
no service that ranks in importance 
with the personal winning of souls. 

In this rush of conflicting interests 
in home, social, and religious life, the 
young woman w T ho would thus serve 
and count as an active force in the 
deepest spiritual life of the church, 
must choose, as Mary did — must 
42 



AT JESUS* FEET 



count some things as loss. We sing, 
with great gusto, " Take time to be 
holy! " but are we really willing to 
take time? Are we willing to cut some 
things out of our lives — things not 
necessarily wrong in themselves, but 
which take our time — in order that 
we may have the greater opportunity 
to commune with God and work for 
souls? It may mean less "serving" 
in some particulars of our social and 
religious lives; it may mean the giv- 
ing up of reading all the latest histor- 
ical novels, in order to be " up-to- 
date," and devoting that time to the 
study of God's Word; it may mean 
fewer hours spent upon embroidery 
and artistic sofa pillows and more 
upon gratifying the inner life; it may 
mean, dear college girl, that the half- 
hour in the morning, which spent on 
your Greek last term gave you such 
splendid credits, will now be dedi- 
cated to the morning watch, when 
Christ shall whisper to you His words 
43 



MARY OF BETHANY, 



of life; it may mean that the worldly 
crowd of young people, who believe 
in " being sensible, and not going to 
extremes in religion/" will decide that 
you are " a nice girl, but rather pe- 
culiar, you know." Do not hope to 
escape the criticism of some Martha, 
who misunderstands you, but rejoice 
that there is One who recognizes that 
you have chosen " that good part." 

I think I hear some young woman 
say, u Yes, I want to enter into this 
life of communion with Christ, but 
how can I sit at His feet as Mary did? 
Pie seems so far away in heaven! If 
He were only here on earth, as He 
was in the Bethany home, then how 
gladly I would leave all to seek His 
presence." You have forgotten the 
Master's own words when He said, 
" Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it 
is expedient for you that I go away." 
Only now and then would the Beth- 
any home be blessed by the Lord's 
presence, only rarely could Mary lija- 

44 



AT JESUS' FEET 



ger to commune, face to face with 
her Master. Jesus realized the limi- 
tations upon the earthly life, and, so, 
while His friends were mourning that 
He was going away from them, He 
tried to impress them that His depart- 
ure only meant a fuller manifestation 
of Himself to their hearts. " I will 
pray the Father and He shall give you 
another Comforter, that He may 
abide with you forever." 

That little word, " another," has a 
very special meaning in this connec- 
tion. We have no word in the Eng- 
lish language to express just what is 
meant in the original Greek. In that 
language there are two words, both 
translated by our word " another," 
but one meaning " another of a differ- 
ent kind;" the second, "another of 
the same kind." It is " another " used 
in this last sense which Jesus used 
when He promised " another Comfort- 
er." " The promise of the Father " 
was not to be a Being unlike the 
45 



MARY OF BETHANY 



Saviour, with different attributes, but 
He was to be identically like the Lord 
J esus, with the same love and interest 
in the welfare of the disciples. It was 
as if the Master had said, " Yes, I 
must leave you. For three years I 
have been all things to you; I have 
supplied every need of your nature. 
Every problem you have met, I have 
helped you to solve; in every hour of 
trouble I have been near to comfort. 
But now that I must depart, I will 
not leave you comfortless; I will 
pray the Father and He will send you 
another Comforter, just like Myself, 
and, as I have been all things to you, 
so He also will supply your every 
need. You may bring your problems 
to Him as you have to Me; you may 
prove Him a Comforter, indeed, in 
every dark hour, for He shall testify 
of Me. He shall glorify Me in your 
hearts.'' 

There is a quaint and beautiful cus- 
tom in connection with marriage fes- 

46 



AT JESUS' FEET 



tivities in the Orient. When, in the 
evening, the procession passes from 
the bridegroom's home to that of the 
bride, the nearest friend of the bride- 
groom lights a torch and bears it at 
the head of the procession, before the 
bridegroom, so holding it that the 
light falls not on his own figure, but 
lights up the bridegroom's face. 

Like unto this is the ministry of 
the blessed Holy Spirit. He is only 
waiting for your invitation and the 
surrender of your will, to come into 
your heart, cleansing it from defile- 
ment, and making it an holy temple 
for the Heavenly Bridegroom's in- 
dwelling. "With the torch of His di- 
vine illumination, He will light up 
the face of your crucified and risen 
Saviour, making Him as real to your 
spiritual vision as was His earthly 
presence to Mary of Bethany. You 

47 



MARY OF BETHANY 



may as truly sit at His feet as did this 
disciple of old, for He is still the 
Matchless Teacher, " the same yester- 
day, to-day and forever." And thus 
beholding, you shall be " changed into 
the same image, from glory to glory, 
even as by the Spirit of the Lord ! " 

" Sitting at the feet of Jesus, 

what words I hear Him say! 
Happy place! so dear, so precious! 

May it find me there each day. 
Sitting at the feet of Jesus, 

1 would look upon the past, 
For His love has been so gracious 

It has won my heart at last. 

" Sitting at the feet of Jesus, 

Where can mortal be more blest? 
There I lay my sins and sorrows, 

And when weary find sweet rest. 
Sitting at the feet of Jesus, 

There I love to weep and pray, 
While I from His fulness gather 

Grace and comfort every day. 

48 



AT JESUS' FEET 



Bless me my Saviour, bless me, 

As I sit low at Thy feet, 
Oh, look down in love upon me, 

Let me see Thy face so sweet. 
Give me, Lord, the mind of Jesus, 

Make me holy as He is; 
May I prove I've been with Jesus, 

Who is all my righteousness." 



49 



MARY OF BETHANY 



CHAPTER IV. 

IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW. 
"I am the Resurrection and the Life." 

Again we are in quiet little Beth- 
any, in the home that Jesus loved, 
but how changed are all the surround- 
ings! No busy preparations for a com- 
ing guest, no building of festive 
booths, no plans for a feast, but over 
all the pall of sorrow's silence. Within 
the home Martha and Mary sit, bowed 
in an agony of grief. Scarcely yet 
can they realize that He who has pro- 
tected and cared for them in tenderest 
affection, is lying, cold and still, in 
yonder tomb. It all seems like a hor- 
rid dream, from which they will soon 
awake to find Lazarus still with 
them. 

" If the Master had only been 
here! " wails Martha. " He loved Laz- 
arus so, and He would not have seen 
him suffer. O! why did He not 
come ? " And the stricken heart of 
50 



IN THE VALLEY 



Mary echoes the question, " Why did 
He not come? " How she had longed 
for the sympathy of His hand-clasp, 
the solace of His loving voice! How 
together they had hoped and watched 
for His coming, hour after hour! 
They cannot understand, but still 
they cling to their faith in Him 
whom they have learned to love as 
Friend and Master. 

But now a messenger enters and 
whispers a hurried word in Martha's 
ear. Forgetting every one else, even 
her weeping sister, she hastens from 
the house, hurrying to meet the Mas- 
ter, whom she sees approaching. As 
He greets her, all the longing of her 
heart bursts out in a sob, " Jesus, 
Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my 
brother had not died! " And then the 
Master speaks to her such words of di- 
vine hope that Martha's faith takes 
wing and mounts higher and higher 
until it rests on that pinnacle of con- 
fession: "Yea, Lord, I believe that 
51 



MARY OF BETHANY 



Thou art the Christ, the Son of 
God!" 

But Jesus, who never forgets Hi3 
own, turns to Martha and asks, 
" Where is Mary? " Ah, yes, He, the 
Reader of hearts, knew all the long- 
ing of those days, the fearful uncer- 
tainty that had burdened Mary's 
heart, and the questionings of her 
faith which yet held anchor in His 
love and omnipotence. And so He 
waits without, while Martha, with 
joyful steps, runs to call her sister. 

"Listen, Mary!" she exclaims, 
"the Master is come and calleth for 
thee! ?' 

With heart beating fast, Mary hast- 
ily rises and hurries down the path 
where the Master is waiting. As she 
draws near, a memory, perhaps, of 
that last visit, when Lazarus was one 
of the happy household, overwhelms 
her, and, as she lifts her tear-stained 
face and meets the sympathetic glance 
of her Lord, His own eyes full of tears, 

52 



IN THE VALLEY 



she casts herself at His feet, uncon- 
sciously repeating the same pathetic 
words which Martha had used, words 
which had been often upon their lips 
during those weary days of waiting 
and watching, " Lord ! if Thou hadst 
been here! " 

But why need we further picture 
this scene, so familiar to us all — the 
weeping Master, the sealed tomb, the 
word of power, the risen Lazarus? 
The veil drops over what succeeded, 
the happy reunion of sisters and 
brother, the fellowship with Him who 
had indeed proven Himself to be the 
Resurrection and the Life. But to 
all time the comforting lessons, 
which this picture presents have re- 
mained as a benediction and solace to 
sorroAving hearts everywhere. 

The fact that Mary of Bethany was 
a loving, devoted disciple of Jesus did 
not protect her from the natural sor- 
rows of life any more than it will pro- 
tect you or me. Into the lives of 
53 



MARY OF BETHANY 



many of God's dearest saints have 
crept sorrows well-night heart-break- 
ing. Few of the readers of these 
words but have, in some way, passed 
through the deep waters, and have 
stood, with Mary of Bethany, in the 
shadows of some great affliction. It 
may have been at the tomb of some 
loved one, who was dearer than life; 
it may have been at the open grave of 
heart hopes and cherished plans. 
There are sorrows for which we do 
not wear bands of crape — burial ser- 
vices where we lay away forever the 
dreams of what might have been, with 
none to understand or sympathize 
save Him who is " the God of all com- 
fort." 

In the loneliness of such an hour 
our hearts have cried out, " Why must 
this be? Why must this loved one 
be given up? Why must this hope of 
my heart be sacrificed? " Perhaps the 
Master's presence has seemed dimmed 
through our blinding tear drops, and 

54 



IN THE VALLEY 



we have thought that He has forgot- 
ten us. To any heart thus burdened 
to-day, I bring a message of cheer 
and hope. " The Master is come and 
calleth for thee! " He waits to sym- 
pathize and comfort. He is calling 
you unto Himself that He may apply 
to your broken heart the balm which 
no earthly love can supply. Think 
you that He who wept with Mary of 
Bethany fails to share your sorrow? 
He understands the pang with which 
you said good-bye to that " career " 
you had dreamed for yourself, and 
took up again the round of petty 
cares; He knows how your faith al- 
most staggered under the weight of 
that physical affliction so mysteriously 
sent upon you; He know T s every heart- 
ache and every unfulfilled desire " In 
all their affliction, He was afflicted, 
and the Angel of His Presence saved 
them." 

Did you notice that when Mary ran 
to meet the Saviour, she instinctively 

L.fC. 



MARY OF BETHANY 



sought to find comfort where she had 
found blessing in the past— at His 
feet? The same divine Love which 
had shed its beams of light upon her 
trusting heart in other days, was now 
to light rip her path of sorrow. Christ 
the Teacher is Christ the Consoler, 
and in the presence of Him whom her 
soul loved, faith revived and heavenly 
peace settled down upon her troubled 
spirit. And so it is ever with the 
Master's own. No comfort, no sup- 
port, no sympathy like that which He 
gives ! No shelter from life's sorrows 
like the everlasting Arms! No place 
of peace and rest save at the feet of 
Jesus! Happy the heart who knows 
by experience the way into this Holy 
of Holies! 

Jesus said Lazarus's death should 
be the means of showing forth the 
glory of God. The loved and lost 
was to be restored to Love's embrace 
again, and out of an empty tomb the 
light of heaven was to shine. Dear, 

56 



IN THE VALLEY 



sorrowing heart, there waits a resur- 
rection morning's joy for you, and 
across the empty tomb of your sorrow 
you shall yet behold, written in let- 
ters of living light, " This light afflic- 
tion which is but for a moment, work- 
eth out for us a far more exceeding 
weight of glory! " 

" There's never a day so dreary 
But God can make it bright, 
And unto the heart that trusts Him 
He giveth songs in the night; 
There's never a heart so broken 
But the loving Lord can heal; 
For the heart that was pierced on 
Calvary 

Doth still for His loved ones feel. 

" There's never a cross so heavy 
But the nail-scarred hands are there, 
Outstretched,: in tender compassion, 
The burden to help us bear; 
There's never a sin nor sorrow, 
There's never a pain nor loss, 
But that we may bring to Jesus, 
And leave at the foot of the cross." 



MARY OF BETHANY 



CHAPTER V. 

AN ALABASTER BOX OF OINTMENT. 

"Her eyes are homes of silent prayer, 
Nor other thoughts her mind admits, 
But, he was dead, and there he sits, 
And he that brought him back is there. " 

— Tennyson's "In Memoriam." 

"She hath done what she could."— Mark 
14: 8. 

Only six days and then the Pass- 
over — and the Cross! Hounded by 
priests and Pharisees; hated by a dis- 
appointed populace; bereft of those, 
even among His disciples, who could 
enter into the fellowship of His com- 
ing sufferings — alone, terribly alone, 
the Son of man turned His steps 
steadily toward Jerusalem. But ere 
He should enter the Holy City, 
which was already excitedly asking, 
" What think ye, that He will not 
come to the feast? " the future suffer- 
er turned aside for one last season of 
communion with the loved ones in 
Bethany. It was as if, in the loving 

58 



THE ALABASTER BOX 



companionship of these devoted 
hearts, He would seek the strength to 
gird more fully His soul for its last 
awful struggle. But, while about 
His pathway the shadows were gath- 
ering w T ith fearful rapidity, in the 
home of Martha all was joy and glad- 
ness. Had not Lazarus been given 
back to them, snatched from the very 
embrace of death? And now the 
Master had come, and they would do 
Him honor. Another feast is pre- 
pared, and close by the Master's side 
reclines Lazarus, wdiile, true to her 
nature, Martha is serving. How 
should they know 7 that in a few short 
days they would see their divine 
Friend bearing His cross up the Via 
Dolorosa? And so all is happiness 
and rejoicing, and the approaching 
gloom falls only on Him who was a 
Man of Sorrows and acquainted with 
grief. None among His disciples to 
share His loneliness; on every side 
faces are bright with the joy of the 

59 



MARY OF BETHANY 



present moment. ~No one, do we say? 
Yes, there is one heart whose love has 
made strangely sensitive to spiritual 
influences. By that subtle sympathy 
that exists between kindred spirits, 
the soul of Mary feels something of 
the mysterious sorrow that is settling 
down upon the spirit of her Lord, and 
her affectionate nature responds to 
His silent cry for sympathy with all 
the ardor of a measureless love. 
Stealing softly out from the happy 
company, her heart longing to show 7 
the Saviour, not only her grateful 
love, but that she enters, in soma 
measure, into His sorrow, she returns 
bearing her most precious worldly 
possession, an alabaster box of oint- 
ment, very costly, and slipping up 
softly to where the Master is reclin- 
ing, she breaks the fragile casket and 
anoints His head and feet. Then, as 
if not yet satisfied with this manifesta- 
tion of devotion, she bends and wipes 
those loved feet with the hairs of her 



60 



THE ALABASTER BOX 



head, while the fragrance of the pre- 
cious perfume floats out into the room 
and fills the house. 

It would seem that no one could 
deny the fitness of such a tribute of 
love, but, alas! Mary is once more 
doomed to be misunderstood. The 
same spirit which prompted Martha's 
impatient speech, now is heard in the 
disapproving murmurs of disciples 
and bystanders. " To what purpose is 
this waste ? " snarls out the traitor. 
" This ointment might have been sold 
for three hundred pence and given to. 
the poor ! " 

But, hark! Again the Master 
speaks in loving appreciation of 
Mary's service. " Let her alone; she 
hath done a good work. Verily, I 
say unto you, Wheresoever the gospel 
shall be preached in the whole world, 
there shall also this that this woman 
hath done, be told for a memorial of 
her." 

Oh, happy Mary ! misunderstood by 
61 



MARY OF BETHANY 



loved ones and disciples, but so fully 
understood by thy Lord ! Thy love 
hath, made thee immortal! He who 
so loved that He gave His life a ran- 
som for many, counts no sacrifice, 
however extravagant, as useless if 
done for love of Him. True affection 
puts no price upon its gifts, but pours 
out its treasures with a prodigal hand. 
Love gives all. 

But still the murmur of critical di&- 
ciples is heard about us to-day. The 
hard-headed, so-called " practical " 
people, who do not believe in going to 
extremes in religion, either in finan- 
cial sacrifice or that of service, are 
still murmuring at this waste of oint- 
ment. Any spontaneous outburst of 
devotion is characterized as a species 
of fanaticism, and energy expended in 
any other form of service than that 
designated by them as " practical " is 
discounted as being useless extrava- 
gance. Giving just for love's sweet 
62 



THE ALABASTER BOX 



sake is an experience of which they 
know nothing. 

" Three hundred pence ! What is 
the use of wasting your splendid tal- 
ents in the slums, among people who 
never will appreciate your work for 
Him? A waste -of ointment ! " 

A bright young woman, the only 
child of an aged Christian minister, 
offered herself for missionary work in 
China. Only a month after reaching 
her field of labor, before she had even 
begun to learn the language, she fell 
a victim to a terrible fever, and found 
her grave, far away from home and 
friends, in that heathen land. When 
the sorrowing father was asked if he 
did not rebel against such a provi- 
dence, he replied, " I've nothing too 
precious for Jesus ! " 

" What a useless sacrifice ! " every- 
one exclaimed, when they read of her 
death. But He who valued Mary's 
anointing counted not her ministry a 
failure. And still, above the echo of 
63 



MARY OF BETHANY 



the J udas-spirit, we hear the Master's 
clear tones of love, "It shall be told 
for a memorial of her ! " 

And here, dear reader, we bid fare- 
well to Mary of Bethany, as she 
stands with the Master's smile of ap- 
proval resting like a benediction upon 
her, while down the long vistas of the 
ages there still floats the odor of cost- 
ly ointment — the fragrance of a love 
that gives all! 



64 



K4AF 3 1 190» 



MAR 31 1902 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



